Portréty zúfalých existencií v tvorbe Arthura Millera
The Portraits of Losers in Arthur Miller’s Writings

Summary/Abstract: The authoress perceives Arthur Miller’s emergence on the Czech and the Slovak theatrical scenes against the backdrop of existentialist philosophy proliferating in the 1960s. Miller’s most staged Death of a Salesman (1949) and the least staged After the Fall (1963), are understood to be a representative existentialist arch over Miller‘s dramatic creation. Miller’s initial inspiration for the plays was derived from Jaspers, according to whom the self-creation of Man explicates his/her existence in two ways, under extreme life circumstances (Man is confronted with himself/herself) and in communication with others. In Loman, the central character of the Death of a Salesman, Man’s existence is materialized directly, under extreme life circumstances. The vital code here is Man’s failure. However, only in a true fall, Man will experience his/her existence, thus consuming his/her option of existence. In the case of Quentin, the main protagonist of After the Fall, Man’s existence is materialized through communication, in contact with others (mother, father, wife Louise, wife Maggie, incidental female acquaintances Felice and Holga, colleagues from his law firm). “Progressively minded“ American dramatist Arthur Miller, as referred to by socialist theatre dramaturgy, was smoothly introduced to Slovak and Czech theatrical scenes. His Death of a Salesman was constantly given green light, however, his After the Fall, which was ideologically less usable, was staged only twice in the Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava and once by the National Theatre, Prague; both productions taking place in a decade of “political thawing“. Repeatedly, the Death of a Salesman was a source of blunt criticism of a socially unfair capitalist society. The authoress concludes her paper by an overview of the stagings of the plays by Slovak and Czech theatres.

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